King of Serpents
by LoireLoa
Summary: Sequel to Rise of the Serpent. Now that the timeline has been changed will history repeat itself, or will Voldemort's dreams finally bear fruit?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Please note that this story is the sequel to _Rise of the Serpent_, and therefore is not meant to be read without at least a rudimentary understanding of its prequel's plot.

Also, this story is considered an Alternate Universe work because there would be no story at all if certain non-canon events hadn't occurred in _Rise of the Serpent_, so please don't nag me about its inconsistency with canon. I _meant_ it to be this way. That said, on with the show.

**Shifting**

_December 22, 1979_

"Do you, Sirius Marius Black, swear on your life and magic fealty to the Dark Lord Voldemort?"

"I do so swear."

"Do you, Sirius Marius Black, swear on your life and magic to never denounce or betray the Dark Lord Voldemort?"

"I do so swear."

"Do you, Sirius Marius Black, swear on your life and magic to uphold all the values of a Death Eater, and do you likewise swear to follow all orders given by the Dark Lord Voldemort without question or complaint?"

"I do so swear."

The horrid stench of burning flesh filled my nostrils as I looked down upon my newest servant. "Rise," I bellowed, "Sirius Marius Black, and join your Dark brethren."

Applause filled the room as the eldest Black Heir rose and took his place among my ranks next to his brother. I smiled in contentment. _Everything is going according to plan._

LVLV

_October 31, 1981_

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Run! I'll hold him off!"

"Hold me off? _Me?_ I'm the greatest wizard of the age!" I laughed, high and cold.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of the age!" James yelled defiantly.

I seethed. "Albus Dumbledore is nothing but a manipulative old _fraud_! He's the reason the Grindewauld became as powerful as he was! And you have _him_ to thank for what _I _am!"

"Liar! Albus is a wizard of the Light!"

"Believe what you want boy! Avada Kedavra!"

I stepped over his lifeless body in disgust. _Dumbledore's man to the very end. The fool._

I hear movement above me and hastily made my way upstairs. Just as I reached the top, the words of my future self came to mind.

_You will meet with a setback on October 31, 1981._

I laughed, knowing that whatever this setback was, it wouldn't hinder me for long. I threw the door to the nursery open. _Silly girl,_ I mused, _she really should have run like her husband told her to…_

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" she sobbed, protectively clutching at the infant in question.

"Stand aside you silly girl." I ordered.

She shook her head. "Not Harry, please no… take me! Kill me instead!"

"Stand aside now." I commanded, more forcefully. I had promised Severus I would spare her, and did not want to break my promise if I could avoid it. _Why won't you move?_ I thought angrily. _You can always have another; Severus will give you another…_

Still she refused. "Not Harry! Please have mercy!"

_I am sorry, my son. _"Avada Kedavra." I said and watched her body slump over the side of the crib.

"And now for you." I said, turning to the wide-eyed infant. "My supposed downfall. Avada Kedavra!"

The child remained eerily quiet as the green light of the Killing Curse shot toward him. Time seemed to slow as it engulfed him, throwing the red hair of his once-vibrant mother into sharp release. Suddenly, the light was reflected and ricocheted back towards me. Eyes wide in disbelief, I did the only thing that I could think of.

I captured my fading soul shard, a hurried "Propago Vita" leaving my lips just as the rebounded Killing Curse struck me. I watched, enraptured as a piece of my essence hovered in limbo and then found a home in the most magical article in the room: Harry Potter, the very child that I'd sought to kill. _How ironic. Of course, karma never has liked me very much, so I really shouldn't be surprised._

A shuffling downstairs drew my attention, and after a few moments an out of breath Wormtail appeared in front of me.

"My Lord!" he rasped, taking in my ghostly form in no small amount of surprise. "But--"

"Not now Wormtail! Put my body in stasis and take it to Lucius. Now!" I barked when he seemed too shocked for action. He hurried to comply, grabbing one of my corpse's arms and making to drag it out of the room.

"Fool!" I bellowed, startling him. "You will injure it further, and then it will be no use to me! _Use your wand, you fool_! You _are_ a wizard, aren't you?"

Blushing furiously, Wormtail took out his wand and proceeded to levitate my body out of the house. The infant, silent until now, let out an unearthly scream.

"My Lord?"

"Leave him! Black will be here soon enough to take him."

"Yes my Lord."

_As long as Wormtail doesn't splinch my body on his way, Lucius should be able to reanimate it using the diary before the week is out. And even if he does manage to botch it somehow, we can always create a new one. _I smirked. _A 'setback' indeed… _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long to get this out – I wasn't sure anyone was reading this. (I'm still not sure; after all, there are no reviews.) Hopefully somebody's reading this, and whoever you are, this is for you.

**Rising**

There were so many things that I'd wanted to do before that night, and so many things I'd already done that were detrimental to not only my cause but also my sanity. Those blessedly few hours that I was out of my body, I reflected back on them and realized the cold hard truth of the situation: Dumbledore had too much pull with the current Ministry administration for me to take him head on politically as I had been. I needed to be far sneakier than I had been, as well as completely and utterly sane. So, while I was out of my body, I gave up some of the powers I'd worked so hard to get. They were Dark, yes, but more than that they would ultimately cause my downfall by creating insanity where there had been none before. I needed all my wits about me to maneuver the world out of Dumbledore's fierce grip, and no amount of power was worth failure. Failure meant that innocents – like I had been, like Severus had been, like my own _mother_ had been – would suffer as we had or worse, and I couldn't allow that. I _had_ to win, if only for those hopeful few who were still green enough to be saved. So I did what I never would have thought to do without the aid of my future self: I re-absorbed all but three of my Horcruxes. Then, gathering two of the remaining ones, I combined them and then redistributed them into nine equal parts, placing each one in a newborn kitten.

Eighty-three, that was the number of chances I would have to escape Death, myself and Potter included. The number that Rasputin had advised in _Volta de Morte_ was less – only seventy-three – but with that infernal Headmaster lurking about I wasn't about to take any chances. The world needed saving from him, and I wasn't about to gamble with the lives of innocents if I could help it. The more chances I had to defeat him, the better. And with Potter – soon to be Black – alive and on my side, I could essentially live forever. Of course, I'd hope to see some kind of victory long before then, but people could be stubborn when faced with change – even when that change was in their best interest. It scared them, and I could sympathize: falling in love with Eileen was the most frightening thing that ever happened to me. I don't for a moment regret it – better to have loved and lost, after all – but until I loved her, I'd lived for myself. For my knowledge. _And now…_

My eyes alighted on Severus, who was in deep conversation with Lucius and Igor.

Now, I live for them. For my family. I couldn't save Abraxas, or myself, or even (loathe as I am to admit it) my son, but hopefully… _hopefully_, I can save my grandson. Maybe, just maybe, I could save that generation, and the ones after.

Dumbledore may have been good once – I wouldn't know – but he wasn't anymore. Everyone thought he had their best interests at heart, but the only person he was concerned with was himself. Look at what he did to the Potters. He set them up for failure "for the greater good" – that is, in hopes of getting rid of me. But he wasn't counting on my Horcruxes, and had pompously reported my demise without actually seeing for himself that I was dead. Such folly… he'd come to regret his oversight, as now that I had regained corporeal form I could operate in the shadows with him none the wiser. No one would be looking for a dead man, after all, and they _certainly_ wouldn't be looking for a dead man that appeared as I did. With my Darkest powers shed my body had taken on the less-threatening form that it would have naturally progressed to. Gone was the tight, waxy visage, flat nostrils, and snakelike crimson eyes, and in their place was an altogether different face. The new (or should I say _proper_?) me had thick, dark, wavy locks, and intelligent blue eyes. I was tall and lithe – just like my two sons – and had the overall look of a genteel, witty aristocrat. Which thanks to my traitorous father, I exactly was. If we met in a duel, Dumbledore would likely underestimate me due to my genial appearance. It was the perfect guise for keeping a low profile, and only a trusted few would be the wiser.

I smirked as I examined myself in the mirror. _Let the games begin._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Sorry the updates have been so sporadic. I haven't really been encouraged to write for this. I personally like it, but…

Anyway, let me know what you think.

**Preparing**

"Father… are you sure you want to do this?" Severus asked, watching apprehensively as I straightened my robes and surveyed myself once more in the mirror.

"I don't _want_ to do this, no, but ask me if it's necessary. Lucius is a brilliant man, but he cannot do this on his own. Hogwarts is a large school, and the current Governors are stuck in their ways. With Dumbledore keeping a close eye on the two of you, there isn't much that can be done without his notice. Once I join the staff, we'll have more access to the students, and he has nothing to fear or worry from me. The good Lady has seen to that."

"But what if he finds out?" he asks, fidgeting in a manner quite unlike himself, "What then?"

"Trust me son, he won't. Not as long as you and Lucius remember to call me Helios as agreed. Even in private you are to go by my assumed name. I need not remind you how the walls at Hogwarts have ears, nor to whom those ears report."

Silence met this declaration, and I turned from my reflection to face my son. Naturally fair (much like myself), Severus' features were more pallid than usual, and his posture had taken on the kind of rigidness that was typically reserved for times when he was severely distressed or offended. It was clear that the pinched look about him was due to the former more so than the latter.

"Severus, son…" I said, crossing the room to clasp his shoulder in an effort to comfort him, "don't worry. Everything will work out in according to plan. It's not like it's Defense that I'm teaching – Dumbledore might have a reason to be suspicious then, but what would he have to fear from a Muggle Studies professor? The position itself practically guarantees that he and whomever teaching it are on the same side. All of my paperwork is taken care of, and all of my references will check out. He has no reason to be even mildly suspicious. Relax son… you worry too much."

Severus smiled, some of the tightness around his eyes vanishing, to my great relief. "I don't worry, I'm just paranoid. Some would say that I got it from my father."

Shaking my head, I only smiled at his cheek "That you did son, that you did."

**Xxx**

Several days after the interview, a letter arrived.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore, Headmaster_

_Dear Mr. Titus,_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that due to your expertise in Muggle culture and pleasant, professional nature, you have been selected to assume the post of Muggle Studies professor with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As I am sure you realize, Hogwarts is the premier magical institution on this side of the English Channel, known primarily for its outstanding programs and the individuals who teach them. It is the belief of myself and the Board of Governors that your presence at will benefit not only the students and staff you will undoubtedly interact with, but the very atmosphere here at Hogwarts School._

_We will be expecting your arrival no later than two weeks prior to start of term, at which time you will select the classroom and suite that are to your liking. Please send an owl care of Albus Dumbledore with a copy of your syllabus and lesson plan, as well as the title and author of any required text(s) as well as any additional supplies necessary post haste, so that information may be distributed to the students in a timely matter. Congratulations again on your new position, and I speak for all members of the staff and faculty when I say that we look forward to working with you._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin First Class, et al. _


End file.
